An Iowa man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he shot his ex-girlfriend's parents, killing her mother and critically injuring her father, as they helped her move out of her out of their residence after a break-up.
Hamza Smajlovic, 25, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 25 years on Friday after he opened fire on Ruth and Tony Robison last year, the Polk County Attorney's Office said.
Ruth Robison, 45, died while her husband suffered life-altering injuries. Smajlovic pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder and attempted murder.
The couple's daughter, Jasmyne Robison, took the stand Friday to make a victim impact statement. She described how Smajlovic choking her in October 2024 was the "final straw" that made her decide to leave him after a "dreadful nine years" of abuse.
"I wish I never met you," she told the defendant. "I will never get the time back with my mother." Ruth and Tony Robison, 53, were moving their daughter's furniture out of her home in the 200 block of NW 51st Place in Des Moines on Nov. 1, 2024.
"I grabbed the 9-millimeter and shot Ruth in the head," he told District Judge Joseph Seidlin last month when he pleaded guilty. "I believe after Ruth, I pointed the gun at Tony, and I shot him in the head as well."
Polk County Sheriff's deputies arrived and found the pair inside with gunshot wounds. Paramedics rushed the victims to the hospital, where Ruth Robison was pronounced dead.
Jasmyne's brother, Chayse Robison, said Smajlovic isolated her sister from the rest of the family, but their mother never stopped trying to rescue her. Her mother was protecting her daughter when she died.
The plea deal called for Smajlovic to receive life in prison. The 25-year sentence for attempted murder was set to run concurrently as part of the plea deal, but the judge
ordered the sentences to run consecutively.
